Foreword-Recently many of my article titles have been questions. There has been

Acceptance or Change?, Addictions or Reminders?, What is your Focus? & Who am I?

In this article I delve into why so many questions. Enjoy.

 

Alchemy is traditionally considered the practise of purifying and transforming lead into gold.  This website is about purifying one’s self. This website’s tagline is “The journey towards one’s true self”

You may ask yourself, what is my true self?

There is no one answer. The answer depends on where you are on your personal journey. This is why I often pose a question rather than make a statement.

Your deduction or conclusion is right for you!

I believe questions and questioning are an important part of personal growth and learning. We should never stop questioning!

Something I have been questioning is the idea of normal. What is normal? One definition of normal is:

• Conforming to a standard

From a young age people generally desire to conform, be accepted and not stand out. We want to be normal but normal is constantly changing. Our view of normal is constantly adapting.

A simple example is the changing of the seasons.

When winter is approaching and we experience the first cold snap. It feels freezing! Our normal had been the heat of summer but we soon acclimatise and it does not feel so cold. The new winter temperature becomes the normal.

To acclimatise means to become accustomed to a new climate or new conditions. Synonyms’ include adjust, adapt, attune, accustom, accommodate, habituate, assimilate, acculturate, harden, condition, reconcile, become resigned, resign oneself.

What if what we “acclimatise” to should not be our normal? It may not be natural or good for us. There are many examples of this and they often involve an element of escalation. A good example is stress at work.

Imagine this example.

• A couple of large projects are taken on at work. You work in a small team. This extra work load starts putting more pressure on the staff.
• A team member goes off on long term sickness as the stress compounds an existing medical issue. The remaining people are under more pressure. They accustom to this.
• Due to the excess pressure the remaining workers now start arguing and cracks in the team start to form. This creates more stress but they harden to this.
• As the project is falling behind, overtime is offered to get back on schedule. Everyone is now working all hours of the clock. After a few weeks the workers are now close to exhaustion. Everyone struggles but they adjust to the increased demand.
• Someone decides enough is enough and they leave. This person’s work load is absorbed by the remaining workers.

Can you see the pattern arising? People try their best and don’t want to let the co-workers down but at what cost?

When is the decision to stop adapting to an unhealthy situation reached?  What happens if we keep adjusting to the symptoms and they become the normal?

When we finally reach the point where we decide to change and a journey of questioning starts. We start pulling back the layers of normal. What is revealed? Natural!

Just like normal everyone’s perspective of natural will be different. That’s because everyone has a different path and dreams. Each journey is different and we find fulfilment along the way.

A normal life is the biggest lie invented.  Question everything along your journey to freedom, fulfilment and peace.

Mark- The Alchemist’s Journey